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WINE COUNTRY THIS WEEK: CENTRAL COASTWinemaker Joey Arnold and Michelle PascoePreferred Tasting RoomPOZO VALLEY WINERYby Mark StorerHardly anyone knows about the PozoValley which sits about 15 miles east ofSanta Margarita, itself about eight milesnorth of San Luis Obispo. Pozo Valley has apopulation of 30 people, many more cowsand one winery.The Arnolds are fifth generation residentsof the Central Coast and have farmed the areafor at least that long. It was 1994 when SteveArnold was looking to plant row crops on hiscattle ranch to provide some diversity andgive his teenaged children something more todo. Little did they know that it would becomea passion that drove them to create PozoValley Winery and now, 15 years later, with aCentral Coast tasting room and a commitmentto a family run winery producing handcraftedwines, Pozo Valley is attracting moreattention.“When we first were growing grapes, wegrew them for Mondavi,” says MichellePascoe. Each now married, Michelle and herbrother Joey were the teenagers that learnedthose vineyards. “This is the first year we’re12not on contract with them and while we stillsell fruit and work with different winemakers,we had the first release of our wines in 2005.”Pozo Valley Winery doesn’t have anyemployees and it’s very much a family business.“Dad is out in the vineyard, Joey makesthe wine and his wife, Jessica, designs thelabels and creates our look, I run the tastingroom and mom (Debbie) holds it alltogether,” says Pascoe. “She sells the fruit andhelps me out in the tasting room as well.”Pozo Valley’s tasting room is located onMain Street in Santa Margarita. “We share thespace with my friend Bonnie who doescatering out of here and so there’s a fullcommercial kitchen in the building,” saysPascoe. The tasting room is only open Friday,Saturday and Sunday, but lunch is often availableTuesday through Saturday from Bonnie’sKitchen. “We try to keep the sort of smalltown, old west feel to the place.” Indeed, partof Santa Margarita’s charm is that it hasn’texploded with development the way San LuisObispo to the south or Paso Robles to thenorth have.Santa Margarita is, however, home to TheRange, a restaurant that has garnered bothpopular and critical acclaim and also a placewhere you can taste Pozo Valley wines otherthan their tasting room. “We’re in the SanJoaquin Valley and some places here locally,”says Pascoe, “but we’re not widely distributedyet.” Specializing in small batches of CabernetSauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel and makingsome blends like their popular Black Rock, ablend of Merlot, Cabernet and Petit Verdot,Pascoe says that Pozo Valley produces about1200 cases of wine a year.Keeping it all in the family has been a challenge,certainly, according to Pascoe. But sinceshe’s expecting a baby girl this month, thegenerations of the Pozo Valley winerycontinue on. “She’ll be right here with mebehind the bar,” says Pascoe. Indeed, whereelse would she be?Pozo Valley Winery tasting room is locatedat 2200 El Camino Real, open Friday,Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. orby appointment. From Hihgway 101, take theSanta Margarita exit. For more information,call (805) 438-3375 or visit the website atwww.pozovalley.comwww.WineCountryThisWeek.com